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Category Archives: Samhain Publishing

I’m excited to welcome the amazing Cecilia Dominic, author of The Perfect Man.

BLURB:

How far will she go to find her perfect man? How far will he go to be one?

When Karen Hardeman sets foot on the Foothills University campus, it’s her first step toward proving her abusive ex wrong. Just her luck, her first writing assignment in Intro to Romance sends her in search of the perfect hero—a quest she’s never managed to conquer.

Worse, her professor forces her to collaborate with the most overconfident, annoying guy in the class.

Seth Sayers is also at Foothills to find new direction—preferably one that takes him far away from the family drama that’s followed him since his father’s death. He didn’t mean to humiliate Karen by rewriting her manuscript from the hero’s point of view. He blames the painkillers the ER doctor gave him after stitching up a wine-induced cut on his hand.

As their collaboration progresses, Karen begins to trust Seth with her manuscript, then maybe a little piece of her heart. But Seth’s half-brother resurrects Seth’s suspicions about his father’s death. Until he finds the truth, he can’t be the hero in anyone’s life. Even his own.

Warning: Some alcohol consumption. Okay, writer amounts of alcohol consumption. There are also some adult situations, but nothing too explicit. It is a romance-writing class, after all.

Take it away, Cecilia!

Thank you so much for having me today, Nancee! These were fun questions.

What qualities do you think define the perfect man? Include characteristics, habits and looks.

I have always been drawn to the somewhat geeky guys. It worked out. Hubby’s a software developer, and we met our freshman year of college. We shared a computer in our first class together – how sweet is that? I do tend to be drawn more to dark-haired guys than to blonds or redheads, and glasses are optional. No beards, please, but a little scruff can be fun as long as he shaves it off before kisses get serious. I also like a guy who can make me laugh and who is intelligent and creative. Geeky artists – swoon. Finally, he has to be truly considerate of others, which pretty much excludes alphas.

How do real men differ from our romance heroes? (you can be specific, for ex. My DH will pat his stomach and tease,”Why would anyone want a six pack, I’ve got the whole keg!” lol)

Oh, wow, this is a tough one, but I love your husband’s answer. Yes, the effortless fitness thing is definitely a fictional construction, as is the hunky guy who never has trouble motivating himself to work out.

I think real men are more like our beta heroes. They have insecurities and foibles and are typically aware of them. Sometimes they’re even hyper-aware, which causes problems. Or seeking out therapy. You don’t ever see romance heroes going into therapy, or at least I haven’t so far unless there’s an inappropriate relationship with the therapist, which annoys me. I admit, although I love an alpha hero, the beta ones tug at my heart strings!

Did music, television or movies influence your writing of A Perfect Man? If so, any particular song, television show or movie?

I had playlists for Karen and Seth that I would have on whenever I was writing in their point of view. Karen’s was heavy on girl power stuff like Melissa Etheridge, and Seth’s had a melancholy tone with Coldplay and U2. Perfect for your characters!

If you had the perfect dream cast, who would portray Karen and Seth?

Oh, I would love Zooey Deschanel as Karen. She’s got the right amount of goofy for her, and I’ve always thought she’s just adorable. As for Seth, he’s tougher. Maybe Ian Somerhalder? He looks like he could pull off the feel of the character, that is, nice and trying to find his strength so he can navigate this world where life isn’t fair but there are moments of joy to find. Love those choices!

How does your real life writing experience compare to your heroine’s experience as a romance writer? Did you draw on any real life experiences?

I took both the best and worst of my writing habits and mixed them up for my characters.

Both of them have times when the writing is flowing and others when they’re stuck. That was the main similarity between my process and theirs. Like Karen, I tend to be a pantser, but I do like to do character interviews and background sheets like Seth. I don’t think either would like what I have to do for publication, come up with a proposal and synopsis.

Thank you for stopping by!

About the author:

Cecilia Dominic wrote her first story when she was two years old and has always had a much more interesting life inside her head than outside of it. She became a clinical psychologist because she’s fascinated by people and their stories, but she couldn’t stop writing fiction. The first draft of her dissertation, while not fiction, was still criticized by her major professor for being written in too entertaining a style. She made it through graduate school and got her PhD, started her own practice, and by day, she helps people cure their insomnia without using medication. By night, she blogs about wine and writes fiction she hopes will keep her readers turning the pages all night. Yes, she recognizes the conflict of interest between her two careers, so she writes and blogs under a pen name. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with one husband and two cats, which, she’s been told, is a good number of each.